₊˚🖇️₊ephemeral takaralations₊˚🖋️⊹

a corner of the internet devoted to the special interest that kept me afloat over the past year: takarazuka revue (all-women japanese theatre). gifs, ramblings, maybe some translated interviews / clips (mostly as an excuse to improve my japanese) ☆

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Macoto Rey, photographed by Sane Seven

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𓂃towaki sea as george sand and yuzuka rei as franz liszt in years of pilgrimage: the wandering soul of liszt ferenc (flower troupe, 2022)

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Further reading below the cut!

Edit on 15/08/2025: updated to add details on male leads in Western opera.

Takarazuka:

See here for my beginner's guide to Takarazuka

The official Takarazuka channel on Youtube has lots of well-shot performance clips to check out, and there are even more if you know where to search

Cantonese opera:

For a taste of how deliciously dramatic Cantonese opera can get, check out this short clip of a scene from The Butterfly Lovers, in which the two main characters (played by Joyce Koi/ 蓋鳴暉 and Ng Mei Ying/ 吳美英) struggle to come to terms with the female lead being forced into an arranged marriage

See here for my post on Yam Kim Fai (任劍輝) and Pak Suet Sin (白雪仙), the aforementioned "iconic pair" who dominated the Cantonese opera world

Many Cantonese opera films can be watched in full, in pretty decent quality, on Youtube, and English translations for much of the core repertory for Cantonese opera can be found with a quick Googling. For example, Yam-Pak's Legend of the Purple Hairpin (紫釵記) can be watched here, together with the English translation of the script here.

You can also take a look at my other posts on Cantonese opera here!

Yue opera:

Click here for a clip of Chen Lijun performing a modernised arrangement of a song from the hit Yue opera adaptation New Dragon Gate Inn (新龍門客棧). Basically can be described as "Yue opera and wuxia meet idol aesthetics"

For something more substantial, watch this pro-shot excerpt of the ending of Dream of the Red Chambers, which fuses traditional singing with modern staging. Alternatively, there are plenty of bootlegs of full shows on Youtube, so take your pick!

Trousers roles in Western opera:

Please also check out the "mezzosexual" tag :)

There are definitely some notable cases where the male lead is a trousers role, such as in Der Rosenkavalier, I Capuleti e i Montecchi (a.k.a. Romeo and Juliet), and Orlando Furioso. Also, as @siridealphosphorus kindly pointed out, it's much more common in Baroque operas, such as in Alcina, Ariodante, Giulio Cesare, Serse, and Orfeo ed Euridice.

I highly recommend the queer opera blog Queer Lorgnette, which reviews opera productions with humour, wit, and a distinctly queer and feminist eye

Korean musicals:

See here for my video on Korean musicals, which includes clips from several shows with genderblind casting

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#mustread

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when Kacha, Hitoko and Honoka showed up at rehearsals coincidentally wearing the same t‑shirt

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mothers

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𓂃random gifs from sena jun's top star run's revues 🌙

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𓂃todoroki yuu, ayano kanami and oozora yuuhi in les bijoux brillants (moon troupe, 2006)

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𓂃agata sen in an american in paris (snow troupe, 2025)

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𓂃himehana yukino & asami jun in an american in paris (snow troupe, 2025)

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𓂃oozora yuuhi and nono sumika 🪐

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Towaki Sea for AERA magazine – January 26, 2026 Issue

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𓂃asumi rio as tybalt in Romeo & Juliette (moon, 2012)

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oozora yuuhi & nono sumika in For whom the bell tolls (cosmos, 2011)

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oozora yuuhi in nice guy (cosmos, 2011)

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oozora yuuhi as sora & nono sumika as miu in shangri-la (cosmos, 2010)

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Hanagumi survey about Towaki Sea – 2/2

What is Towaki Sea's charm in a few words?

🌸 She's a prince! The way she escorts you is princely-like. Her smile is princely-like. Even her kindness and thoughtfulness to those around her is regal. She’s a prince in every aspect. Hitoko: When I think of a prince, I imagine someone with composure, who is magnanimous and effortlessly graceful. But I’m not really that “effortlessly graceful”. There were times when I’ve even thought “Maybe if I just stay silent, I might come off as cool” and tried not to talk. But once I start talking, I’m just a pretty normal person. So… I wouldn't define myself as a prince! lol

🌸 She seems royal and mysterious, but she actually has a very playful side! What a gap! And her mouth corners!!! I absolutely love Towaki-san’s mouth corners when she smiles! Hitoko: Back in middle school, I wore braces and thanks to the dentist I went to, my mouth corners ended up like these. You know how you have to keep your mouth open a lot during the treatment, right? Well, that’s how I somehow ended up with this smile!

🌸 Eyes that feel like they’ll draw you in and a sweet husky singing voice. I think she’s a Hanadan (Flower Troupe’s otokoyaku) who captures everyone’s hearts and never lets them go. Hitoko: Oh, I’m happy, really happy. Hanadan… I was a Flower Troupe fan, so I’ve always admired the kind of Hanadan who suits pink. So hearing this that makes me really happy.

🌸 Classical! Seductive! Versatile performer! Hitoko: “Classical” well, lately I’ve been doing a lot of revues, so maybe I’ve been giving off that type of vibe. But "versatile performer"*, I like that!

🌸 Her sanpaku eyes <3 I want to be pierced by your gaze! Hitoko: Ah, for some reason, whenever I’m on stage, I seem to end up with sanpaku eyes. I wonder why

*i translated 二刀流 as "versatile performer" because the sienne who wrote it was probably referring to hitoko's ability to skilfully play both onnayaku and otokoyaku roles

What’s something new or surprising you’ve recently found out about Hitoko?

🌸 Hito-san always wears very cute patterned socks! Every time I see them, I think “So this is what they mean by ‘fashion starts from the feet". I can’t help but look at them! Hitoko: Fashion does indeed start from the feet! No matter how tough and emotional the role I’m playing is, wearing those flashy, cute socks is one of my personal rules. I have so many different kinds, so please, take a look at them all!

🌸 She often brushes her teeth with her hand on her hips, and during meetings, when she gets sleepy, her eyes get all droopy, but then she makes a face like “I wasn’t sleeping!” Hitoko: Who wrote this?! Who noticed all of this??? *laughs* That must’ve been back when we all shared the big dressing room... Because these days I'm brushing my teeth in my own room

🌸 Her shoe size is surprisingly small! Hitoko: Wow, you’ve really been paying attention! Yes, my shoes size is around 24.5. Otokoyaku usually wear size 26 or even bigger shoes, but I’ve got small feet. You’ve got a good eye!

What's something you'd like her to stop doing?

🌸 Even though she’s extremely busy herself, she always notices the smallest changes in others and worries about us. She’s just too kind, so sometimes I just want to tell her “I’m okay, really!” lol Hitoko: It’s you who is kind! Noticing when someone’s cut or dyed their hair and saying something about it is like a personal rule of mine. I heard from a mutual acquaintance, who’s an OG, that Matobu Sei-san, whom I really admired, was that kind of person. That’s why, ever since then, I’ve made it a personal rule of mine. So… I just can’t stop [complimenting you all]. Sorry!

🌸 Hitoko-san often says things like “You look beautiful today too” or “You were wonderful” out of the blue, which makes my heart skips a beat. Those words make me really happy, but my face turns red, my heart starts pounding and I get so embarrassed that I can’t say anything back… Hitoko: Now that I’m in this stage of my career, I really want to express when something is truly beautiful or wonderful. I don’t think there’s any harm in saying so. So I end up saying it without thinking it, but please don’t be shy!

🌸 During performances, when she makes eye contact with us at certain moments, I get so thrown off that I almost forget the choreography! Hitoko: Oh, no, I totally get that; it happened to me too when i was a junior. Once, Ayanagi-san and I passed each other, she was exiting and I was entering the stage, and she winked at me. I made it onstage, but then I was like “Wait… what was I supposed to do?”. So to know that someone feels that way about me now… I’m honored. Thank you.

A message from the section "A message you want to send to Hitoko" I absolutely had to include here

🌸 Please eat a lot of good food! Let us juniors give you massages~~ Hitoko: Hey, I think I know who wrote that! One time during rehearsals, I was a bit tired and sat down in the refreshment corner outside… Honoka-chan, Hanako and Daiya**, the ikemen trio, gave me massages! I’m sure lots of people have been massaged by those ikemen, but I was like i’ll happily accept the offer.

**Seino Asuka, Ichinose Kouki, Yuki Daiya

–the end–

[source: lock on program. one day I'll upload the full subbed video… not sure on which video sharing platform yet, since i'd rather avoid a copyright strike, but I will... ig]

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Hanagumi survey about Towaki Sea – 1/2

Animals hanagumi members associate Towaki Sea with

#3 🥉 Meerkat 🐿️ Hitoko's reaction: "I wonder why... Maybe because my eyes are pitch black?"

#2 🥈 Black Panther 🐈‍⬛ Hitoko's reaction: "Black panthers are cool, so I like this reply. I’ve always felt like I don’t give off the same graceful, agile vibes as black panthers do, though"

#1 🥇 Cat 🐱 Hitoko's reaction: "To live freely… yes, maybe I am a bit like a cat. Year by year, I’ve started living more the way I want, so maybe I’m becoming more cat-like"

🦙 Other animals mentioned: Alpaca, dolphin, newborn calf, snowy owl Hitoko's reaction: "Actually, some of those are kind of fierce [...] They’re mostly gentle-looking animals, but I think owls are surprisingly aggressive. And “newborn calf”… this part feels a bit off. Who said that?! lol"

Takarazuka roles they want Towaki Sea to play

#3 🥉 Danny Ocean – Ocean’s 11  Hitoko's reaction: "That’s unexpected. I wonder if I am really as handsome as him. Well, whether or not I could play Danny, the way Ocean’s 11 characters dive into the heist and everything… it’s just so cool. Giving life to that kind of story as a Hana otokoyaku would be so much fun"

#2 🥈 Gii – Golden Desert  Hitoko's reaction: "Ah, fans often tell me that too. But Asumi Rio-sama’s portrayal of that role is so unreachable that I can’t help but feel like “Someone like me… playing that character…?”. If I ever got the chance, I want to give it a try. It’s a bit presumptuous to say this, but… I’m really happy. It truly is a beautiful show, and the role itself is wonderful. I think it’s because it has that kind of atmosphere you don’t often see in Takarazuka"

#1 🥇 Der Tod – Elisabeth  Hitoko's reaction: Well, recently, with my long hair and my black outfit, I kind of looked like Tod. At least visually. But, wait, it’s not like I was trying to give off that “regal deathly” vibe or anything

🎭 Other roles mentioned: Matsugae Kiyoaki (Spring Snow), Amano Haruki (Hoshiai Hitoyo)

Non-Takarazuka roles they want Towaki Sea to play

#3 🥉 Tuxedo Mask – Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon  Hitoko: "Well, it’s been adapted to the stage many times and Tuxedo Mask has even been played by Takarazuka’s prince-type siennes. He’s so sleek and genuinely cool. That vibe really suits Takarazuka’s otokoyaku and it creates a sense of happiness. I’m not sure if I’d suit that role, but I’d like to give it a try"

#2 🥈 Kageyama – Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de (The After-Dinner Mysteries)  Hitoko: "A mystery story, right? But it also has playful exchanges, so it’d be interesting to see Takarazuka stage it. I’m surprised this came in second, that’s really unexpected!"

#1 🥇 Sunwoo / Moo-myung – Hwarang (Korean drama)  Hitoko: "People recommended me Hwarang so many times, but I still haven’t watched it, sorry! Everyone says it’s fun and addictive. Even Honoka-chan keeps telling me to watch it. So when I hear “Hwarang,” I imagine a certain kind of drama, but it seems like it’s actually much deeper than I thought. Maybe this is the push I needed to give it a watch"

📝 Other roles mentioned:  Eren Jaeger (Attack on Titan, Final Season); Levi (Attack on Titan); Tanjiro (Demon Slayer); The Beast (Beauty and the Beast) Hitoko’s comment (on Tanjiro): "When Demon Slayer was insanely popular even in Hanagumi, I watched the whole anime too. In the dressing room, I even flipped my Takayashiki wig upside down and pretended to be Tanjiro!"